Spinal Breathing Pranayama

Journey to Inner Space

Yogani

From The AYP Enlightenment Series

Copyright 2006 by Yogani All rights reserved. AYP Publishing For ordering information go to:

www.advancedyogapractices.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2006923697 Published simultaneously in: Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. and London, England, U.K. This title is also available in eBook format ISBN 0-9764655-7-4 (For Adobe Reader)

ISBN 0-9764655-6-6 (Paperback)

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Spinal Breathing Pranayama

All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils Job 27:3

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Introduction
Spinal Breathing Pranayama is one of the most important practices in all of yoga. It can have a positive impact on our health and well-being, and in facilitating more effective functioning in every aspect of our daily life. But more than that, spinal breathing pranayama purifies and opens us to our ecstatic inner realms. To engage in this simple practice on a daily basis is to be on an exciting journey to inner space. For thousands of years, methods of spinal breathing have been utilized by spiritual practitioners, and are mentioned in the ancient scriptures. Yet, the details of this practice have always been kept secret from the vast majority of the population. Now, in these rapidly changing times, there is a great need for many to have access to the means that have long been reserved for the few. No one owns this knowledge. It originates inside each of us, within our very own nervous system. We only need a few simple instructions, and the natural evolutionary processes present within us will take over, yielding marvelous results. The Advanced Yoga Practices Enlightenment Series is an endeavor to present the most effective methods of yoga in a series of easy-to-read books that anyone can use to gain practical results immediately and over the long term. Since the AYP writings first began in 2003, we have been engaged in a fascinating
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experiment to see just how much can be conveyed, with much more detail included on practices than in the spiritual writings of the past. Can books provide us the specific means necessary to tread the path to enlightenment, or do we have to surrender at the feet of a guru to find our salvation? Well, clearly we must surrender to something, even if it is to our own innate potential to live a freer and happier life. If we are able to do that, and maintain a daily practice, then books like this one can come alive and instruct us in the ways of human spiritual transformation. If the reader is ready and the book is worthy, amazing things can happen. While one persons name is given as the author of this book, it is actually a distillation of the efforts of thousands of practitioners over thousands of years. This is one persons attempt to simplify and make practical the spiritual methods that many have utilized throughout history. All who have gone before have my deepest gratitude, as do the many I am privileged to be in touch with in the present who continue to practice with dedication and good results. I hope you will find this book to be a useful resource as you travel along your chosen path. Practice wisely, and enjoy!

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Breath and the Life Force ................ 1 Chapter 2 Spinal Breathing Pranayama .......... 9
How to do Spinal Breathing..................................... 10 When and Where to do Spinal Breathing................. 12 Initial Questions on Practice .................................... 14 Enhancing the Effectiveness of Spinal Breathing.... 20

The Possibilities ................................................ 32 Chapter 3 Journey to Inner Space................... 35

Managing Our Purification and Opening................. 36 Energy Experiences and Visions.............................. 63 The Evolution of Ecstatic Conductivity................... 86

Chapter 4 The Cosmic You ............................... 93

The Marriage of Opposites ...................................... 94 Ecstatic Bliss............................................................ 96 The Infinite Self and Divine Love ........................... 98

Further Reading and Support ........................... 103

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The Possibilities We may begin practicing spinal breathing pranayama for various reasons. Maybe we heard it helps with relaxation. It certainly does. Or perhaps there is a health issue, and pranayama was recommended. Yes, spinal breathing, especially, can do wonders to help balance our inner energies. Often, inner energy imbalances can be the cause of physical health issues. Or we could be coming to spinal breathing pranayama for spiritual reasons, in pursuit of that elusive condition called enlightenment. Whatever our reason has been for starting spinal breathing, it is a good enough reason. It really does not matter why we have begun. The important thing is that we have! If we commit to a twice-daily practice and give it some time to work, the benefits will be there. The beauty in this is that no matter which of the benefits we have come looking for, we will receive all of the benefits in due course relaxation, good health and, eventually, enlightenment too. So the possibilities are very broad global, we could say. Global within us, and even global around us. Yes, when we take up spinal breathing, we are not only purifying and opening the full range of possibilities within ourselves, we are also opening the possibilities within everyone and everything around us. How can this be?
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This was mentioned in the last chapter, how our inner opening can reveal that everything around us is an expression of our own inner consciousness, our own vast inner space. It is an interesting theory, an interesting possibility that we can test for ourselves by engaging daily in spinal breathing pranayama, deep meditation, and other practices. But, the testing of theories aside, there is really only one simple reason for doing this practice Freedom. Wed all like to be free, which means to be happy in every situation life hands to us, and, above all, to be at peace amidst the fray of life. Once we are in this situation, we are in a position to do the thing that we all inwardly long to be doing Giving. These two words, freedom and giving, represent the ultimate possibilities that our spinal breathing practice can deliver. With spinal breathing, we prepare the ground for inner silence to take firm root in our nervous system, and also cultivate the ecstatic inner dimensions within us. These two are the seeds of freedom and giving. In stillness we find absolute freedom amidst all the circumstances of life. And in the ecstatic flow of our inner realms we find the beginnings of an outward flow from us into our physical environment. This outward flow is a giving, a giving of a very special kind. It is an outpouring of divine love coming through us from within. It is effortless and uplifts everyone and everything around us. As we
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become free in inner silence and are becoming ecstatically conductive, this process happens all by itself as we go about our ordinary business in daily life. While life seems to go on in ordinary ways, what is happening in and around us is not so ordinary. We are undergoing the process of human spiritual transformation the rise of inner silence, ecstatic bliss and outpouring divine love. The consequences of this are extraordinary. Indeed, the world can be transformed for the better by this process, because every heart is lifted up and illuminated by the outward flow of this energy from even only one person. So the possibilities contained within us are quite profound, and spinal breathing pranayama is one of the primary means for actualizing this great potential for good in ourselves and in the world. Relaxation? Yes. Good health? Absolutely. Enlightenment? Why not? Now, lets delve deeper into the practical aspects of managing the process of purification and opening occurring in our nervous system as a result of spinal breathing pranayama.

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Further Reading and Support

Yogani is an American spiritual scientist who, for forty years, has been integrating ancient techniques from around the world which cultivate human spiritual transformation. The approach is non-sectarian, and open to all. His books include: Advanced Yoga Practices Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living (Two Volumes) Two large user-friendly textbooks providing over 400 detailed lessons on the AYP integrated system of practices. The Secrets of Wilder A Novel The story of young Americans discovering and utilizing actual secret practices leading to human spiritual transformation. The AYP Enlightenment Series Easy-to-read instruction books on yoga practices, including: - Deep Meditation Pathway to Personal Freedom - Spinal Breathing Pranayama Journey to Inner Space - Tantra Discovering the Power of Pre-Orgasmic Sex - Asanas, Mudras and Bandhas Awakening Ecstatic Kundalini - Samyama Cultivating Stillness in Action, Siddhis and Miracles - Diet, Shatkarmas and Amaroli Yogic Nutrition and Cleansing for Health and Spirit - Self-Inquiry Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering - Bhakti and Karma Yoga The Science of Devotion and Liberation Through Action - Eight Limbs of Yoga The Structure and Pacing of Self-Directed Spiritual Practice - Retreats Fast Track to Freedom A Guide for Leaders and Practitioners - Liberation The Fruition of Yoga For up-to-date information on the writings of Yogani, and for the free AYP Support Forums, please visit: www.advancedyogapractices.com